中国努力宣传核电的益处China: trust us on nuclear power

Just two days after the tragic earthquake that shook Japan, China’s national energy chief was busy stumping for an unlikely cause: the benefits of nuclear power.

就在日本发生大地震两天后，中国国家能源局局长刘铁男忙于为一项难以相信的事业做宣传：核电的益处。

Liu Tienan, head of the National Energy Administration, toured the China Institute of Atomic Energy and signaled his approval of the work being done there. China is not a democracy, but it remains important to rally public opinion on controversial or potentially-controversial issues.

刘铁男视察了中国原子能科学研究院(China Institute of Atomic Energy)，对其开展的工作予以肯定。中国并非一个民主国家，但在有争议或潜在有争议的问题上，仍有必要争取民意支持。

“Developing nuclear energy safely and efficiently is an important means to realize our goals for future clean energy,” he said, according to a press release published Monday, after his visit on Sunday. “The relevant parties must diligently analyze the lessons from Japan’s nuclear events, and . . . guarantee the safe development of our nuclear industry,” he added.

根据周一发布的新闻稿，刘铁男在周日视察期间表示：“安全高效地发展核电，是实现未来清洁能源发展目标的重要途径之一”。他补充说：“有关方面一定要认真分析和总结日本核电事故经验教训……确保我国核电事业安全发展。”

His comments come at a time when global concerns about nuclear safety are rising, as the world watches in panic at the frantic efforts of engineers to cool down three reactors that have been severely impacted by the quake.

刘铁男发表上述言论之际，国际上对核安全的担忧正不断加剧。世人在恐慌中目睹着工程技术人员竭尽全力冷却三个在地震中严重受损的核反应堆。

For the nuclear power industry, there is no bigger customer than China, which plans to build 40GW of new nuclear capacity in the next five years. The nuclear development has been encouraged by the government as part of a recent shift toward clean energy, and the plants are going up so fast that operating companies are struggling to train enough qualified personnel to run the new reactors.

对核电产业来说，中国是最大的客户，中国计划在未来五年新建40GW的核电装机容量。核电发展得到了政府的鼓励，作为近年转向清洁能源努力的一部分。中国的核电厂建设如此之快，以至于运营企业难以培训足够的合格人员来运行新的反应堆。

But to the relief, no doubt, of companies like Westinghouse and Areva China’s commitment to nuclear expansion has appeared unwavering. Over the weekend, as the annual National People’s Congress wrapped up in Beijing, a drumbeat of official statements reiterated the importance of nuclear energy in China. And on Monday China National Nuclear Corporation brought out their fast reactor expert to discuss nuclear safety. China’s reactors are safer than Japans because they were built more recently, said Prof Xu Mi in an online statement, adding that China’s safety standards adhere to IAEA requirements.

但毫无疑问，对美国西屋(Westinghouse)和法国阿海珐(Areva)这样的企业来说，中国对核电扩建的坚定承诺让人宽慰。上周末，在全国人大年会在北京接近尾声之际，中国发表了一系列官方声明，重申核能对中国的重要性。周一，中国核工业集团(China National Nuclear Corporation)请他们的快中子反应堆专家出面讨论核安全。徐銤教授在网上声明中表示，中国的反应堆比日本更安全，因为它们的建造年份更近。他补充说，中国的安全标准遵循了国际原子能机构(IAEA)的各项要求。

Part of the reason China’s nuclear expansion is so fast is that there is little public voice in China to oppose the building of nuclear reactors. Unlike in India, China’s rush to embrace nuclear energy has gone largely unopposed by the public. The question that remains to be answered then, is whether the graphic images out of Japan could change that.

中国核电扩建速度如此之快的部分原因在于，中国几乎没有反对建造核反应堆的舆论。与印度的情况不同，中国在发展核能的过程中基本上没有遭到公众反对。而仍有待解答的问题是：来自日本的画面是否会改变这种局面。

译者/和风